While NVMe SSDs are fast, they also tend to be more expensive than other SSDs. With that in mind, we researched and tested drives from all the top manufacturers, including giants like Samsung and Western Digital, and lesser-known options like Adata, to find the best high performance NVMe SSDs, the best options across different storage capacities, and options for every budget. Before you proceed, check with your PC or motherboard manufacturer to make sure that your computer can make use of an NVMe SSD. You’ll need to have an open M.2 socket on your motherboard, and it will need to support the NVMe communication standard. The first motherboards with M.2 sockets didn’t yet support NVMe, so simply having an M.2 socket doesn’t mean you can take advantage of one of these lightning fast SSDs. While there are marginally faster and more robust options on the market, most users will be absolutely satisfied with the performance of the Samsung 970 EVO. Unless you have a specific reason to look elsewhere or have a very particular need that’s not met by the Samsung 970 EVO, there’s really no reason to even look any further. We particularly recommend the 1TB version, but the 2TB version is also excellent if you need the extra space. The only issue with the Samsung 970 EVO is that the lower capacity versions run slower, and we particularly recommend staying away from the 256GB model. Speeds also drop precipitously if you exceed the cache, but that’s unlikely to happen with the 1TB and 2TB versions of the 970 EVO. While this is a truly impressive drive, considering the price, there are a few issues that keep the Samsung 970 EVO solidly in our top spot. Reflecting the bargain price, the packaging of the Sabrent Rocket is pretty bare-bones, with very little documentation, and no packed-in extras. In fact, it doesn’t even come with a screw to secure the drive to your motherboard. The Sabrent doesn’t come with its own management software either, so installing and managing this drive is a bit of DIY experience. You can find free management software out there to do the job, but the fantastic price of this NVMe SSD definitely comes with the tradeoff that you need to do some extra work to get it up and running. Like the 970 EVO line, the 970 EVO Plus comes with excellent management software. It also suffers from a similar slowdown issue when the cache is exhausted, but testing shows that the 970 EVO Plus is actually faster than the 970 EVO when exhausted, making this the better choice if you transfer extremely large files. If you don’t mind the bland appearance, the SN500 is well designed for small PCs with its slim M.2 2280 form factor. In testing its fast Gen3 X4 NVMe PCIe connection delivers impressive 1700MB/s read speeds, and 1450MB/s write speeds. This makes SN500 one zippy SSD, considering its highly attractive price point. Though there are faster SSDs on the market, the SN500 excels when it comes to value for money. The WD Blue SN500 NVMe SSD is well suited as both an affordable upgrade to an existing system, or as the base of a new gaming or productivity-focused PC. Its rock-solid build quality, slim form factor, great performance, and competitive price make it a great option for a variety of scenarios. This is an impressive drive that represents an excellent choice if you don’t have the budget or the need for a larger SSD. It does suffer from the same issue as the 1TB Samsung 970 EVO where speeds slow dramatically when the cache is overfilled, and that problem is somewhat exacerbated by the fact that the DRAM cache is just half the size of the cache found in the 1TB and 2TB versions of this drive, but overall performance is fantastic when the cache isn’t exhausted. If you have some extra room in your budget, consider taking a look at our overall top pick as a great alternative. Otherwise, the Samsung 970 EVO represents an excellent mid-capacity value. In terms of hardware, the Samsung 970 Pro differs from its more affordable cousin in that it uses a 2-bit MLC V-NAND flash memory instead of a 3-bit. This not only boosts performance but also increases the durability and endurance of the 970 Pro. Both models have similar theoretical read and write speeds, but real-world testing shows that the 970 Pro outperforms the competition with best-in-class performance. Most users will do just fine with the 970 EVO, but the 970 Pro is an easy recommendation if you don’t mind spending some extra money to enjoy the top-notch performance, rock-solid speeds, and endurance that can’t be beat. Most of the best NVMe SSDs are pretty basic looking. While there are a few options on this list that spice things up a bit, the XPG S40G is your go-to option if you’re trying to put together a flashy build. This is one of the brightest RGB-enabled drives on the market, and the included software gives you full control over the lighting behavior. You can fine-tune the coloring of eight individual LEDs, select from a massive list of effects like breathing and cycling, and set up a number of custom profiles. While the flashy LEDs are the main selling point here, the XPG S40G is no slouch in the performance department, and the 1TB model also represents a great value. With sequential read speeds in excess of 3.5GB per second, and write speeds of about 2GB per second, you don’t have to sacrifice much in the performance department just to get some flashy RGB functionality. While it doesn’t quite match our top overall picks in terms of performance, the XPG SX8200 Pro comes extremely close. It’s actually rated at 3.5GB per second read and 3GB per the second write, more or less in line with the top-performing options, although real-world testing shows it to stumble a bit. The main exception, in terms of performance, is that it doesn’t slow down as much during long writes and when the cache is exhausted as most of the competition. In those circumstances, it actually continues to manage fairly respectable speeds. That, combined with an absolutely fantastic price, makes this a very attractive option if you’re working on a bit of a budget but still want the highest speeds possible. The Sabrent Rocket Q does have somewhat lower write-durability ratings compared to the top performers in the segment, but it’s still a durable enough drive for most usage scenarios. It’s also the best game in town if you’re looking for a high capacity drive, as Sabrent was the first to market with 4TB and 8TB NVMe SSDs, leaving the competition to play catch up. If you have your heart set on a truly high capacity NVMe SSD, the only thing that should really stop you from snapping up a 4TB Sabrent Rocket Q is the price tag. It’s an expensive drive, both in absolute terms and when you look at the cost per terabyte. If Andy Zahn has been writing for Lifewire since 2019, covering PC hardware, gaming, storage, devices, laptops, and more. He has his own gaming rig that he tinkers with in his spare time.
What to look for in an NVMe SSD
Capacity - The sweet spot for price versus storage space is typically about 500GB to 1TB, but there are a lot of great options that have more space if it’s in your budget. A smaller drive with only 256GB is fine if you’re working on a tight budget and only need to speed up a few apps and files, but don’t bother with anything smaller than that. In general, try to buy a drive that has about 20 percent more capacity than you intend to use. Filling one of these drives to full capacity will actually tend to slow it down. Support - Before you buy an NVMe SSD, make absolutely sure that your computer actually supports this style of SSD. If your motherboard doesn’t have an open slot for an NVMe SSD you’re better off just buying a traditional SSD. Some older motherboards have M.2 slots that aren’t compatible with NVMe SSDs, so make sure to double-check. Additionally, some laptops have NVMe SSDs that are soldered to the motherboard, in which case you don’t have the option to upgrade yourself. Read and write speed - In terms of performance, look primarily at how fast the drive can read and write. Bigger numbers are better, so a drive that reads at 3GB/s and writes at 2.5GB/s will be significantly faster than one that only reads at 1.2GB/s and writes at 900MB/s. Slow NVMe SSDs are still much faster than traditional hard drives, but you can pay a premium for truly impressive speeds.
